Ceylon Spinach Soup

Ceylon Spinach is known as 'Saan Choy' in Cantonese. Easily grown in Malaysia, this spinach has deep green leaves with bright red stems. It is popular in clear soups and has a somewhat a slippery texture when it's cooked.

By now you would be wondering why I have here photos of borlotti beans. What has this bean got to do with this soup? Well, I kind of accidentally found out that this bean serves 2 purposes here. I actually meant for this bean to be a healthy snack for the kids, so I removed the beans from the pods and boiled them. Then I thought what a waste it would be if I were to throw away the water I boiled them in. I decided to add it to my soup as stock. What a pleasant surprise that was! It added sweetness and nutrients to the soup without changing the taste.

Love the looks of these beans in the water, don't you? Anyway, back to my clear Ceylon Spinach soup. This soup is rich in vitamins and minerals.

As for the soup base, I used 2 pieces of chicken keel, boiled in 2 litres of filtered water.

Pour the boiled stock into a slow-cooker and continue to simmer for 1 hour.

Pull off the tender top of the ceylon spinach from the stems, then remove the leaves from the harder portion of the stems. Rinse and drain.

3 pieces of soft tofu, rinsed and drained.

Add the borlotti beans stock into the chicken keel stock and put in the ceylon spinach and tofu. Let them simmer in the slow-cooker for another 30 minutes, then crack a salted duck egg and slowly drizzle its contents into the hot boiling soup, stir slightly before cutting off the heat. (This is to get the cloud effect). If the duck egg is of good quality, you will see the orange color oil dots floating on top of the soup. (It's lacking in my photo)

Add sea salt to taste.

Cut tofu into quarters before serving.

Notice the holes in the tofu. Hmm, that's the best part! A very springy texture which I like.

By the way, the ceylon spinach loses its bright red color after it's cooked.